23.04.2016
April is coming to an end and I still haven’t published my What I read this month post for March. It’s spring time and I’m definitely in a mood for some tidying and organising. Two of the books I read in March are around these topics. So here are the books:
1. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
Page number: 267
Publication date: 2001
Translated in Bulgarian: yes
This book has a newer edition than the one I read (and the one translated in Bulgarian). Despite this fact I really liked it. David Allen is the creator of GTD (Get things done) - a technique that is supposed to increase your productivity. According to Allen the brain’s function is to think, not to store information. He advices:
If you remember that you have something important to do, if it takes less than 2 minutes do it immediately. If not, write it down and organise your tasks in categories, don’t fill your brain with useless information.
The book contains a lot of useful tips about how to organise your workspace. The only thing I regret is not picking up the new edition of this book. David Allen rewrote the whole book. I guess that the new book is more about how to use technology. I find GTD to be really effective and it increased my productivity. I definitely recommend this book.
2. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising by Marie Kondo
Page number: 224
Publication date: October 2014
Translated in Bulgarian: no
I guess a lot of you have already heard about this book. I’m surprised that it is not translated in Bulgarian. What Marie Kondo promises is very tempting - to teach you how to tidy your house so it does not get messy again. I started reading it last year, but when I reached the part where she teaches you how to organise your books I was just horrified by what she suggests. Kondo advices you to get rid of all of your books and leave no more than 30. In general I consider it to be a bad advice, because if you read e-books you can save a lot of space and keep all your books. Another thing she claims is that if you haven’t read a book you own by now you’ll never read it. I bought Social intelligence by Daniel Goleman a few years back. I had to get rid of it when I moved house. Now I want to read it. Another thing I don’t like about this book is the whole idea that tidying can change your life and the fact that 1/4 of the book is about that. Almost all practical tips are taken from other books and on top of that there aren’t many. I also don’t like Marie Kondo herself, to dedicate your life to tidying is very superficial. She was obsessed with tidying since she was a child. I’m not saying that there aren’t good tips in this book, but it’s definitely overhyped.
3. Red queen by Victoria Aveyard
Page number: 388
Publication date: February 2015
Translated in Bulgarian: yes
This book has some mixed reviews. I definitely get why people don’t like it. I find it to be somewhere between The princess diaries and The hunger games. It’s definitely for the younger audience. This book has a lot of issues - not well developed characters, the storyline is a little bit boring and you can guess what happens.
The main character is the 17-years old Mare Barrow. Her world is divided by blood - some people have red blood and some have silver. The Silvers have supernatural abilities and the Reds are their slaves. At the beginning I really liked Mare, she steals so she can help support her family. Mare is a Red, but it turns out she has some supernatural abilities of her own. She moves to the the royal castle and pretends that she’s been born Silver. I liked the book only in the beginning. The sequel Glass sward is already out, but I am not continuing with the series.
